Stock-guard



No. 614,0l3. Patented Nov. 8, 1898. J. M. LEE.

STOCK GUARD.

- (Application filed Mar. 7, 1898.)

( N 0 M o d e l J Elli v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB M. LEE, HOUSTON, TEXAS.

STOCK-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,013, dated November8, 1898.

' Application filed March '7, 1898. Serial No. 672,959. (No model.)

, To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB M. LEE, a citi-' construction which can bereadily secured to the road-bed (cross-ties) of a railroad without thenecessity of removal therefrom, in order to make such track repairs asare required, except the renewal of cross-ties,in which event it willonly be necessary to remove that portion of the guard attached to thespecific tie to be renewed.

The invention consists, in combination with the ties of the road-bed, ofsheets of metal covering for said ties, which lie on the chamfered orbeveled edge of the tiesand extend over the top of the ties in anangular form, so as to produce a series of slanting or beveled surfaces,which surfaces are provided with a row or rows of sharp-pointed teethnear their lower edges, said teeth projecting upward and outward invertical planes normally at right angles to the length of the coveringon the ties, and an angle-iron or other suitable device nailed to theties lengthwise of the track, so as to separate the ties and keep themapart such a distance as will conform to the size of the hoofs of horsesand cattle. These coveringsor angular caps, provided with teeth as abovedescribed,are placed on the ties both inside and outside of the rails.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which the same partsare indicated by the same letters throughout the several views. .7

Figure 1 represents a transverse section across the track. Fig. 2represents a section 7 across the cross-ties, but parallel to the track,

and represents a section made by the plane 2 2 in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3represents an enlarged detail sectional View of one of the crosstieswith its cattle-guard secured thereto.

A represents the track-rails, and B the cross-ties. Since in acattle-guard of the character herein described it becomes desirable tohave the cross-ties spaced at the proper distance apart, I preferablyprovide for this purpose angle-irons O, which may be nailed to eachcross-tie, and thus hold the same spaced at the proper distance.

D represents the cattle-guards, preferably in the form of inverted Vs,with teeth (1 stamped out of the sides and projecting over into thespace between the cross-ties. These cattle-guards D are secured to eachcrosstie not only between the tracks, but also on either side thereof,as shown in Fig. l.

E represents the side guards, preferably constructed in the ordinaryway.

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that an animal attemptingto cross the guard will find no footing exceptin the spaces between theties, which are cleared of ballast or earth to or near the bottom of theties.

These spaces are so arranged relative to the,

size of the hoof that the weight of the animal in causing the depressionof the postern-joint brings the fetlock or rear portion of the legbetween the fetlock and hoof in contact with the points of the teeth,thereby necessitating the withdrawal of the foot.

Each cap or metal covering being attached independently to the ties itcan readily be seen that all repair-work incident to the movement oftrainssuch as lining, surfacing, tamping, raising, &c., except theactual renewal of ties-can be done without removing the guard, either inwhole or part, from the road-bed. This feature is one of greatimportance in facilitating trackwork and economizing time and labor.

Should one or more of the caps become injured, the independentattachment to the ties facilitates renewal or repair without disturb ingthe rest of the guard.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is',

1. A cattle-guard adapted to be secured to the tops of a series ofcross-ties, consisting of a plurality of inverted -V- shaped metallicpieces having teeth stamped out of one or both edges thereof andprojecting upward and outward into the spaces between the cross-ties,substantially as described.

ICO

2. The combination with a plurality of crossties spaced atapproximatelythe same distance apart and chamfered on their upper edges,of inverted-V-shaped metallic pieces secured to the tops of thecross-ties and provided with teeth projecting outward and upward overinto the space between the crossties, substantially as and for thepurposes described.

3. The combination with a plurality of crossties chamfered on theirupper edges, and angle-irons secured to the said cross-ties, and spacingthe same at approximately equal distances from each other, of aplurality of inverted-V-shaped metallic pieces secured to the tops ofthe cross-ties and provided with

